Blur - The Great Escape

The Great Escape

England was entering a new golden age in the mid-1990s. English patriotism was returning, and the English were proud to call themselves so. It was all summed up perfectly in Blur's third album, Parklife. Parklife was a celebration of the English way, even going so far as to make a moving, stadium-sized song about the shipping forecast ("This Is a Low"). That was on the upswing of Britpop. It was a document of the Glory Days.

The Great Escape is the comedown. For Blur, at least, the party was over before it even began. The overwhelming success of Parklife led to songwriter Damon Albarn having a nervous breakdown, and the album which came out of it is a stunner. The music is more angular, the songs are darker. While Parklife was England as it is, The Great Escape exists within Albarn's mind, in a world where darkness and depressions lay in every facet. The songs cover everything from voyeurism to separated lovers, and while it's a more challenging trip to get through, the album is definitely a classic. "Country House" and "Charmless Man" are two of the most enjoyable singles Blur ever released, and they serve to lighten the tone, though even they are about depressed men living empty lives.

There is a split within the Blur fan base; It's rare to find a Blur fan who finds The Great Escape average. They either love it, or think it to be the low point of the discography. I can understand where those who think little of it are coming from; The album is the only point in the Blur discography where they really seemed to stay still. All the other albums are tremendous leaps into new directions, but The Great Escape is Parklife with a hangover. The band settled in one spot, and let themselves sink deep into the ground. Some don't like that they were mining the same tract, and argue they buried themselves. Others, myself included, feel there was simply more to find in that vein, and it was well worth the stay. November 16, 2008

Excessive and awful.

After the era-defining and diverse Parklife album, Blur went on to create the Great Escape. Somewhat cynical in tone lyrically, it is clear to see a band on the brink of implosion with the excessively perky arrangements. The lead single Country House was released on the same day as Oasis's Roll With It. Oasis made it to the number one spot subsequently winning the 'battle'. And rightly so, Country House's smirkiness was not what the public wanted and they preferred Oasis's (then) working class authenticity. Overall, Th Great Escape is an over the top, theatrical mess and completely grating. Blur ended up releasing 1997's selft-titled album which, stylistially, was a complete reverse of The Great Escape and saw them embracing American indie-pop amongst other genres. And thank god they did! May 4, 2008

HERE IT IS. The 90's best album

The Great Escape is, in my humble opinion, the best and most underrated pop album of the 90's. It is an album where each song doesn't necessarily flow together and yet to the listener, it feels like the album created a world. In that world are characters that are pretty bummed out. Damon Albarn sympathizes with these characters, it's as if he makes fun of them and becomes friends with them at the same time. He narrates what they do, but understands why they do them. He treats them as if they just took the wrong path by mistake and now they're paying for it. But what I love most about The Great Escape is how diverse the themes are. This album has everything: humor ("Mr. Robinson's Quango", "Dan Abnormal"), wit ("Charmless Man", "Top Man"), optimism ("Could Be You"), pessimism ("Fade Away", "He Thought of Cars"), fantasy ("The Universal"), and desperation ("Entertain Me", a perfect gem and Blur's crowning achievement). The songs are tight and structured; there's nothing indulgent about The Great Escape. The real true great escape of the album is the final minute of carnival music at the end. It's as if Dan Abnomal, Ernold Same, and Mr. Robinson (and everybody else) actually decided on going to a carnival and forget about their problems for a day. If you love this album the way I do, it will probably make you watery-eyed.
Rarely ever have songs so simple sounded so profound. The Great Escape is Blur's Revolver, a wide-ranging and stunning masterpiece that should be considered vital. A+ October 5, 2005

Trilogy's End

Of Blur's english trilogy "The Great Escape" has alway struck me as the less inspired record probably because of the two or three annoying songs it has in it(the Ray Davies aping "Ernold Same"at the top of them) and at the same time for sounding less fresh and a bit more designed for success than previous efforts.

While far from being a bad record "The Great Escape"doesn't seem to recapture "Modern Life is Rubbish"s innocence or to present a band at the absolute top of their game as "Parklife"did.

But all this is forgotten in the presence of the several cuts that do honor their name.And they're not as few as one might think since there's about 8-9 songs that are actually compelling and, as usual with Blur, fun to listen to(Stereotypes,Entertain me,He thought of Cars,Top Man and Fade Away among my favorites).

A more than worthy addition to their catalog though not the best starting place for beginners.


July 31, 2005

Escape into the world of The Great Escape

This album was quite good, yet in my opinion not quite as good as Blur's self-titled album. A number of songs on here discuss the life of a fictional character, some being rather childish yet at the same time likeable. Many tracks also feature some sort of horn, also. I would most recommend the song "Fade Away", which has a unique beat and an almost circus-like off key horn melody which is slightly eerie yet enjoyable. Aside from this song, there are numerous other great incomparable songs, a strange booklet, and interesting lyrical features. I would recommend this album to any Blur fans out there, as well as those of any rock genre.
I recommend:
Stereotypes
Country House
Charmless Man
Fade Away
Top Man
The Universal
Mr. Robinson's Quango
He Thought Of Cars
It Could Be You
Ernold Same
Globe Alone
Entertain Me
July 19, 2005

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